Developing Course Material: Best Practices for Online Video

Adding videos to your online class can really enhance the instruction you're providing. By creating quality videos that capture your learner's attention, you can present learning materials in a meaningful way. There are many ways you can use online videos. You can use them for lectures, presentations, introductions or icebreakers, you can use movie scenes to stress a point or you can use YouTube clips.

For our purposes, we're going to focus on self-made videos but media sharing can certainly be a part of your instruction. With any video you make, you want to grab the attention of your audience. You wouldn't want to go to the trouble of creating a video to have it ignored. So knowing what we know about video viewing behavior, what can we do to capture attention?

• First, make videos short. Try to stay under three to five minutes and make sure that you have some kind of engaging or interactive content in the video about every minute. 
• Next, try to include the human element if you can. We like seeing people. Try to keep a general script of actions for the video. You don't need a fully written script but try to have a detailed outline of what you plan to discuss. Remember, perfection is not necessary. You want the video to look professional and organized of course, but you don't need to edit out every single slip that you have. People appreciate the human element even in an online video. 
• Finally, don't be afraid to make your video entertaining and fun. Again, people enjoy seeing your personality in a video. 

Just remember, creating a good online video is just like creating engaging content and presentations.